Apples to Apples
by Cocoa987
Summary: In which Riley stops by on the first day of school and is reminded of things past. Oneshot- just a bit of Riley and Abby friendship fluff. Don't own, though I love the game.


**Y'know, I wasn't going to post this for a while yet, but seeing as I just finished watching National Treasure on TV…. thanks all for the reviews on Ice Cream- they made me smile!**

**Disclaimer: as far as I'm concerned, National Treasure belongs to Turteltaub, Bruckheimer, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh, and LoriIpsum. So yeah…not mine. Oh- but Charlotte is mine, although she is regrettably not as awesome as Riley.  
Also not mine because apparently I can't spell the name 'Abigail' to save my life. Thank god for spellcheck…**

**Meh. Enough rambling. Here you go, now…**

The door burst open on your average first-day-of-school chaos.

"Hello?" Riley called, not expecting much of an answer as he started over to the alarm system to disable it before the blasted thing would go off.

"In the kitchen!" Abigail called. Riley finished with the alarm and trotted into the kitchen, where he was greeted with the sight of Abigail and little Charlotte, the first bustling around the kitchen, the second squirming impatiently on her seat.

"Riley!" Charlie hopped off her stool and raced toward Riley. He knelt and caught her, swinging her around before hugging her close and setting her down. "You came!"

"Of course I did, kiddo. Like I'd really miss my favorite god-daughter's first day of school. Psh," he snorted, rolling his eyes for added effect.

"Ri, you do know that we gave you a key for a reason? The security system is not a toy," Abigail chided teasingly, not bothering to stop whatever she was doing to visit. Riley rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out her, making Charlie giggle.

"'Course I know, Abs. But what's the fun in that? Oh, sweet- food!" He swung himself up onto the stool, setting his elbows on the counter and grinning up at Abigail. "You're not going to refuse your husband's best friend food, now are you?" Abigail swatted him playfully on the head with a newspaper, unable to hide the smile that always crossed her face when Riley stopped by.

"Ben's not here, so you're going to have to fend for yourself," she informed the younger man. Riley's grin didn't waver, although he did look mildly disappointed.

"That's fine- Ben's got his good points, but he's a terrible cook. What's for breakfast?" Abigail sighed, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Charlotte took the opportunity to steal Riley's attention once more.

"We don't have time for breakfast, Riley! I've got'ta go to school!" she said, swinging her legs excitedly.

"There's always time for breakfast, Char. Learn that, and you'll be just fine- no school required."

"Don't tell her that- she does have to go to school, unlike you, Mr. Riley "I-graduated-MIT-at-nineteen" Poole," Abigail scolded, placing two sandwiches in a bag.

"No- seriously, school is pretty cool. I remember my first grade teacher- she was a real bi- alright, Abigail, stop glaring- mean lady. But then, maybe she didn't like me because I figured out how to work the computers before everyone else. They could only get in if they typed 'Riley is awesome'. But then, since I couldn't spell, it was more like 'Riely iz ausum'. Yeah, she wasn't so happy about that. But other than that, school is great. Just don't let anyone pick on you. Tell 'em ol' Uncle Riley will get them with his superpowers."

"What superpowers?" Charlie asked, digging a spoon into her cereal.

"My super treasure-hunting powers, of course!" Riley said, winking at Abigail. She grinned and put two apples down on the cutting board.

"Apple slices in your lunch, Charlotte?"

"Yes please," Charlie answered through a mouthful of cereal.

"Oh- wait!" Abigail froze with the knife just on the tip of the apple. "Cut it sideways, like a star." Abigail frowned, her head tilting to one side in confusion. "What, you've never done that before? Give it here." Abigail wordlessly handed the knife and apple over, and Riley smirked at her.

"You really didn't know this? I mean- I know something you don't?" Abigail rolled her eyes, and Charlie giggled. "I mean, should I revel in this or should I-"

"Get on with it, Riley. We have to leave in ten minutes," Abigail interrupted.

"Fine, fine. What I know- that you don't- is this. You cut the apple sideways, like so- and the seeds make a star." He chopped through the apple with a flourish and showed off the result to the two women. The look on Charlie's face reminded Riley of something, although he couldn't quite place what.

"Wow," she breathed, and just like that it clicked for Riley. He passed the two halves back to Abigail and smiled cheerfully.

"Yep. Now- you want to go get your shoes on? I'll take you to school in my car- it'll make a nice first impression." Charlie hopped off her stool and disappeared down the hall, shouting happily.

Abigail smiled after her. "Nice trick."

"Yep," he agreed. "She's a good kid. Reminds me of my sister," he added, winking at Abigail with his most charming smile plastered on his face. She grinned and ruffled his hair before following her daughter down the hall.

Riley looked at the whole apple still remaining, and reached for it, spinning it absent-mindedly against the counter. He dug in his pocket for his wallet, emblazoned with a Star Wars logo - something that Ben had gotten him for his birthday a few years past. Ben had rolled his eyes, but Riley thought it was one of his best presents yet.

He flipped it open and took out the photos he kept tucked in the very back, out of reach for all but those who knew what they were looking for. He flipped to the very back picture, and stared at it for a long moment.

A younger Riley smiled up at him, legs swinging from the lowest branch of an apple tree. A girl that bore a striking resemblance to him sat near him on the branch, an apple mid-air - the camera had gone off just as she had tossed it. She had acted a lot like Charlotte when she was that age, he remembered. She would have been twenty five around now, if it weren't for that accident ages ago.

A small smile tugged at his lips, along with that small pang of sadness that appeared whenever he remembered her. He spun the apple slowly, staring at the two smiling faces from his past. If he tried, he could almost hear her laugh-

"Riley!" -or maybe it was just Charlotte's giggles down the hall. Abigail's voice broke him out of his memory. He replaced the picture quickly.

"Yeah?"

"You coming, or not?" Riley shoved his wallet back in his pocket, hopping off his stool.

"Yeah, yeah. On my way." He started off, paused, and backtracked to grab the apple. Taking a bite, he went off to join his friends.

**I had fun writing this- funny the stuff that bounces through your head when you're supposed to be paying attention in math class.  
Well- guess that's all…until next time!!**

**Cocoa =D**

**P.S. A little bonus….**

Abigail walked down the hallway, trying to convince Charlotte that she didn't need to change her shoes, they had just gotten this pair tied and there wasn't time to change them now. Walking through the kitchen, she paused.

"Reminds me of my sister"... it couldn't be. Could it?

They had known Riley for years, but still didn't know much about where he came from. Abigail had pressed for answers a few times, but each time Riley would shut down, his ever-present good humour reduced to a few curt answers. All he had revealed was that his only surviving relatives lived across the country- he had no family here anymore. The look on his face when he said that had kept them from pressing anymore.

Abigail glanced at Riley, who was moaning dramatically as Charlotte demonstrated her newfound ability with knots by tying Riley's Converses together.

No, it had to be figurative. Riley was like a brother- she thought of him that way most of the time.

But still… No, she decided as she followed Riley and Charlotte out to the car. It couldn't be. And then she watched him back over the newspaper and saw Riley wince and saw his hand fly to his wallet and Abigail decided that maybe it _could_ be.


End file.
